Painting/epoxy over granite countertops?

[egishere]

Have any of you done this? Did you use one of those kits?
My friend just did and I thought it looked really good. We have the worlds ugliest granite but we also have a pretty big kitchen so it’s going to be $$$ to replace the countertops. We also have granite backsplash would have to get removed and will replace with tile backsplash.

[mala]

I have not, but when we remodel our kitchen I'll more than likely do resin counters, though it will be over MDF rather than stone. You can test just doing the resin on a small board to see if you like the technique and it's something you feel like you could do before you commit to the full kitchen.

[crystald528]

I would wonder if there are any professionals that you could hire to do it? I would be told scared to mess it up.

[kme]

Can I just say I used epoxy to redo our tub and tile. I follow the directions to a T and a week later it started chipping.

[orangello]

I mean, there’s some granite out there that I really don’t like - I’m an interior designer and I am super goddamned picky. But the thought of epoxying over natural stone is just killing me. I can’t fathom that there’s no better option than changing something else, like the backsplash or cabinet color.

But, minds exist to be changed, so let’s see it - post a pic!

[janegold]

My parents have painted over laminate counter top and it came out really well. But I would also be hesitant to do it over stone. Agree with PPs, can we see a picture?

[egishere]

The granite we have is Baltic brown but it has more black in it. And it’s also the backsplash. They put it in every kitchen on our street lol. It reminds me of a granite they would put in an airport bathroom. Like I said, I’ve always hated it!

We have brown wood cabinets that I don’t hate but I feel like the granite makes our kitchen really dark. I don’t think painting the cabinets white would help the granite look any better. We went over to my friends that did the epoxy over her tile granite and her husband went over the process but DH said no. It’s a lot more involved than I thought. I think for now we may look at switching the backsplash to something lighter in hopes that helps and then we can replace the countertops in a couple of years hopefully! I’ll probably post pics of my kitchen and backsplash selections to get your opinions when we do that!

[TR]

Jan 23, 2020 8:26:01 GMT -5 egishere said:

The granite we have is Baltic brown but it has more black in it. And it’s also the backsplash. They put it in every kitchen on our street lol. It reminds me of a granite they would put in an airport bathroom. Like I said, I’ve always hated it!

We have brown wood cabinets that I don’t hate but I feel like the granite makes our kitchen really dark. I don’t think painting the cabinets white would help the granite look any better. We went over to my friends that did the epoxy over her tile granite and her husband went over the process but DH said no. It’s a lot more involved than I thought. I think for now we may look at switching the backsplash to something lighter in hopes that helps and then we can replace the countertops in a couple of years hopefully! I’ll probably post pics of my kitchen and backsplash selections to get your opinions when we do that!

I googled and yeah, that’s not my favorite granite. It can give an early 2000’s builder basic look. I wouldn’t underestimate the effect of painting the cabinets cream or white. In my googling, those photos looked miles better than your granite with natural wood.

[Leeham Rimes]

DIY painting over countertops sounds like a bad idea to me. I agree with a PP who mentioned to repaint the cabinets. My mom did that in her last house and it really changed the entire look of the kitchen for a lot less than ripping them out and putting in new.

[SusanBAnthony]

Our house came with painted countertops. Yes wall paint. It was not good.

I would hate dark brown counters too, but I'd skip trying to cover them and honestly I'd skip stopgaps- don't spend money on painting cabinets or backsplash if what you really want is new counters. Save for what you actually want.

[ohgillian]

I keep checking back for a photo!

[sapphireblue]

Could you paint the back splash? I have seen blogs going over that process step by step and the result looked really good.

I would look at either painting the cabinets or back splash or both and try to avoid painting the granite. I don't care for granite at all and we have granite too that I hate so I understand though!

I believe a poster here has painted her back splash--I think I recall photos a year or two ago.

[DotAndBuzz]

I have dark green granite with cherry cabinets. 90’s fab right here. Changing the backsplash to a simple beveled subway tile made a HUGE difference. I want to change out all of it, but that’s just not in the cards for a long while, so I did the whole space between the counter and cabinets, and it is so much better. Friends have also had cabinets re-painted (professionally), so that could be another option to consider to brighten the look of your kitchen.

I’d look into both these options before painting a polished natural stone with paint or epoxy.

[egishere]

yeah I think we can definitely change the backsplash! We have pretty nice cabinets and I don't hate the color at all so I don't think I want to paint them. I know the white cabs are all rage right now but wonder for how much longer?

I will post a pic later today. Can someone tell me how to do that? I haven't posted a pic on here in forever!

[circa1978]

I am bizarrely relieved you aren't going to do this, LOL. My mother is screaming inside my head about your resale value. (Nominally, my mother is Catholic but investment is her true religion.) I would choose a house with ugly granite over one with painted countertops 10/10. Especially if you are thinking of doing a white marble look, which will be the next thing to look dated.

[egishere]

circa1978, lol you are welcome! I thought my friend's counter tops looked really good and it was a white marble look but DH is like nope too much of a pain in the ass!

[imojoebunny]

I would paint the cabinets. I had late 90's black granite in my last house with lighter brown cabinets and a cream tile background. I was all, no, not going to paint them, then I went and looked at a house with the same, that had been painted. It looked so much better, I ended up having them painted, and it made a huge difference for the better.

[okla]

We have the same granite. I hate it, LOL. My husband got a deal on it and installed it before we met. I still wouldn't paint over it. We do have white cabinets which I do think helps. I can't imagine having the dark granite with dark cabinets. When I get home, I can take a pic for you to show the ugly granite with white cabinets and backsplash.

[egishere]

okla, thank you! would love to see!

[Susie]

ok, yeah, so definitely not my favorite granite, but I would still rather have it than the laminate that I actually have.  World's worst granite is still granite that isn't splitting at the bevel seam near the sink, where it tends to get wet!

I think with white cabinets it's not so overwhelmingly brown and dark.  Also, could you remove the granite backsplash and do that in tile without taking the counters out?  Backsplashes can be reasonably inexpensive to DIY, and not that that difficult.  

[allhis]

Do you have an island in your kitchen? Swapping out just that portion of the counter would be a more cost effective change with big impact. I‘m working on this economical reno for a client who hated their dark speckly granite and dark wood cabinets. Since the island (now marble) is center stage the perimeter counters kind of fade away. White cabinets are popular, but they are also classic and much easier to coordinate with other elements. (Backsplash is up next in this kitchen but thought it might be worth sharing now.)
I think I’d try the adhesive kind of backsplash instead of painting personally. Something like this? www.lowes.com/pd/Peel-Stick-Mosaics-Peel-and-Stick-Stacked-Carrara-10-in-x-10-in-Linear-Travertine-Tile-Common-10-in-x-10-in-Actual-11-69-in-x-10-83-in/1000372709?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-flr-_-google-_-lia-_--_-walltile-_-1000372709-_-0&store_code=2503&placeholder=null&gclid=Cj0KCQiApaXxBRDNARIsAGFdaB_cj1HnyY1HnS7a77JTkPLDWgzAjJwdf5HE0BI1NQMo3OcU_9-MwjUaAhovEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[egishere]

allhis, that looks really nice! We do have an island. My cabinets are a touch darker than those but pretty close in color. And we had the floors refinished to a walnut color-they were lighter kind of like your pic and had yellowed over time.

Susie, I think we would be able to remove the back splash without damaging the counter tops but I need a professional to take a look. We definitely won't be DIYing the back splash.

[Ashley&Scott]

We have a similar cabinet & granite color in our house but with darker floors. I am planning a light/white color back splash to break up the dark colors, that will probably be a project for next summer. Under cabinet lighting should also do wonders on the brightness of the room. If we ever replace our floors they will definitely be lighter instead of darker.